I know I want to be in the field of Psychology, what are the steps to get started?

In general, you would need to get a Bachelor's degree at an accredited university. You could minor in psychology, but it would be recommended to major in it. To be an effective psychologist, you'd be advised to study sciences including math and I would recommend some computer science. While in college, you would benefit from doing co-op work in a clinic or other organization doing psych work and then an internship. This approach has the multiple benefits of getting you practical experience, of determining your fit and desire to be a psychologist, to get contacts and establish relationships with folks in the field, and finally possibly to make some money while you learn. Psychology specialists will benefit tremendously from personal contact in such a profession. If psychology is for you, you will find this a very rewarding experience.

Start with getting your Bachelor's in psychology. Then you will need a Master's or Doctorate depending on what you want to do, how long you want to go to school, financial considerations, etc. You can provide therapy with either level of degrees. You may also want to consider volunteering if there's a certain group of people you want to work with or area you are interested in learning more about. Enjoy school, read what you want to learn about to keep you motivated, and learn about boundaries (you'll need them in life and in this profession).

Hi Andres,

The education required for a counselor or therapist would be:

(1) A bachelor's degree, and

(2) A master's degree in social work OR a PhD in psychology

I think this may depend on what kind of people you could see yourself working with, and whether you would like to help people in general or help individuals with mental illness in particular. A master's in social work (MSW) will allow you to work as a school or community counselor/therapist. The PhD would allow you to work as a licensed psychologist, which essentially just means it pays more and may involve working with and diagnosing patients with mental illness. To put this in perspective, a Master's degree typically takes 2-3 years after college, whereas a PhD typically takes 5-6 (or more).

In the mean time, I think pursuing a college degree in psychology would be a good idea if you are determined to study psychology. A general track psychology program would expose you to a lot of different kinds of psychological study to hone your interests and decide if therapy or counseling is truly what interests you in psychology. So this would be a good option if you would like to explore the field of psychology a bit more before deciding on a specific career. It sounds like you might enjoy a more specialized major focus in counseling or social work, which may be available depending on the specific college program.

If college is not a viable option for you currently for financial or other reasons, you could first take some psychology classes at a nearby community college which are typically less expensive. These may or may not transfer over to your eventual college degree if you decide to pursue a bachelor's degree, depending on the specific classes and college you decide to attend.

I hope this helps! Do feel free to ask me any other questions if you have some.